Notes on TranslationThe electronic translation service on the Toronto Catholic District School Board's website is hosted by Google Translate. The quality of the translation will vary in some of the languages offered by Google. Google Translate is a free service and currently offers translation in over 50 languages, although an impressive number, this does not capture all languages or dialects. The basic translation’s goal is to capture the general intention of the original English material.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of any translated information. Before you act on translated information, the Board encourages you to confirm any facts that are important to you and affect any decisions you may make.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is committed to parent, family and community engagement, and it is our hope that by providing this tool on our website that we are making our information more accessible to families whose first language is not English and thereby enabling better engagement in public education.

Toronto Catholic District School Board

Page Content

Principal's Message

Dear Parents:

Welcome back to the 2017-2018 school year and what promises to be a year full of hope and success!I extend a very warm welcome to the new and returning families in our community and especially to our youngest members, the Junior Kindergarten students who will begin their formal education.

It is both an honour and a privilege to introduce myself as the new principal of St. James Catholic School. As a Catholic school leader, I am looking forward to working with all of you in making this a successful year for our students as church, parents, community and school strive together to provide an excellent Catholic Education for your child. I am a firm believer that parents, teachers, and students must work together as partners to provide an empowering, enriching and challenging learning environment where children can thrive in their learning. I look forward to having each and every one of you be active participants at St. James School. All parents are invited and encouraged to be part of our Catholic School Parent Council.

Two years ago the Toronto Catholic District School Board introduced a new three-year pastoral plan (2015-2018) entitled “Together with One Voice: Harmonizing Our Faith Through Family, Parish and School”.

We have just completed the 2016-2017 year of the Parish, whereby we celebrated the important role that our parishes play in our school communities and in the lives of the students, staff and families. For the 2017-2018 school year, the focus will be on School, a community of understanding and wisdom, ‘permeated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and love’, where faith is nurtured.

The purpose of this handbook is to provide you with useful information about our school and school board. Please read this handbook carefully, with your child, and keep it in a safe location for future reference. Should you have any questions or concerns about the content of this handbook, or any other school matter, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or myself at the school.

I look forward to meeting each one of you and being a part of such a vibrant and nurturing community. Best wishes for a great 2017- 2018!